Daily COVID-19 update: Lansing-area cases still rising as Ingham death toll exceeds 100
LANSING – COVID-19 case totals continue to spiral upward in the Lansing area and across the state as the average number of daily deaths from the disease in Michigan remained above 40.
Health officials are urging that people take precautions as they sit down for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.
The most recent state health order limits indoor residential gatherings to no more than 10 people from one or two households. Outdoor gatherings are limited to 25 people from three or fewer households.
Restaurants and bars are closed for indoor seating, although many are offering takeout or delivery.
Here's a look at the pandemic data reported on Tuesday.
Lansing area adds 256 cases, Ingham County death toll hits 101
State health officials reported 6,290 new cases and 145 new deaths linked to COVID-19. Not all of those deaths occurred in a single 24-hour period, though, as 51 of them were discovered through a vital records reviews.
In Greater Lansing, 256 new cases and six new deaths were reported.
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Ingham County added 164 cases and three deaths. Eaton County added 71 cases and three deaths, while Clinton County reported 21 cases and no new deaths.
Since March, 320,500 Michigan residents have tested positive and 6,290 deaths have been linked to COVID-19.
Together, Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties had 12,944 confirmed cases and 154 deaths as of Tuesday.
October, November deadliest months so far
More Ingham County residents have died from COVID-19 in October and November than during the rest of the pandemic combined.
Fifty people in Ingham County died from the disease from the end of March until the end of September. In the last two months, 52 more people have died from COVID-19.
The week of Nov. 9 was the deadliest so far, with 10 Ingham County residents dying from COVID-19 that week.
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Most people who have died have lived in two ZIP codes: 48911 and 48823, which covers parts of East Lansing, Meridian Township and Bath Township.
Those areas have had the most people test positive for the virus, Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said. There also are long-term care facilities located in 48823 that had outbreaks that led to people dying, she said Tuesday during a weekly press briefing.
Cases related to MSU declining again
Vail stressed last week that an increase in cases connected to Michigan State University was not another major outbreak.
More:Health official: Increase in COVID-19 cases at Michigan State not another major outbreak
This week's data show that fewer people connected to the university are testing positive.
More than 100 MSU students, staff or faculty tested positive during the weeks of Nov. 2 and Nov. 9. But fewer than 50 tested positive last week, and only six have tested positive so far this week.
Given the incubation period for the virus – anywhere from two days to two weeks – it’s possible the jump in cases was connected to the big celebrations after MSU defeated the University of Michigan in a rivalry football game on Halloween, Vail said.
“(We) can’t make that conclusion, but we certainly see an uptick in those two weeks in MSU-related cases,” she said.
With lab results coming in slower than before, it won’t be unusual to see case numbers change, Vail added, as the health department discovers the date someone started feeling sick or took a test and moves data around accordingly.
Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.